Gasifying apparatus



R REICHHELM GASIFYING APPARATUS Filed June 9, 1938 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 April 16, 1940.

April 16, 1940, R REICHHELM GASIFYING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 file June 9, 1938 Gama Patented Apr. 16 1940 UNITED STATES: I

GASIFYING arrm'rus i" Robert Reichhelm, New Haven, Conn.,

assignor to The Eastern Oil Refining Company, Inc.,

Wallingford, Oonn., cut

a corporation of Connecti- Application June 9. 1938, Serial No. 212,785

11 Claims.

of the fuel is employed to provide the flame or heat to gasify the remainder. In initiating the operation of the device for producing the combustible gas, a spark plug or some other extraneous ignition means is provided. Howeven'as such ignition means is employed, as the flame secured from burning a part of the fuel will be self-sustaining and the operation will continue without the necessity of any other ignition.

One object of the present invention is to provide a process and apparatus for the gasification of liquid fuels such as heavy oils.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved device for producing a highly combustible gas from a heavy fuel in an eflicient manner, so that no carbon deposit will remain from the burned fuel, and a gas will be produced which may be readily burned in a manner similar to the combustion of ordinary fuel gases.

A further object of the invention is the provi-' sion of a gas generator for producing gas from a fuel oil or other hydrocarbon, such that each burner or furnace unit will have its own gas plant to supply the gaseous fuel therefor.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus for generating gas from a liquid fuel such that a portion of the fuel may be consumed and the heat thus generated employed to convert the remainder of the fuel into a combustible gas.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a gas-generating apparatus to which a liquid fuel may be supplied, and a small percentage of the fuel consumed or burned to supply heat to gasify the remainder, whereby the gas so generated may be carried to a furnace or burner to be consumed as desired.

Also, the present invention has for its object the provision of a gas generator to gasify a hydrocarbon fuel by burning a small percentage of the fuel in the presence of the remainder by atomizing a part of the fuel and supplying oxygen thereto in such a manner that substantially all of the oxygen is united with the part of the fuel which is burned, so as to produce and deliver a gas devoid of free oxygen, which may be piped or carried to a burner without danger of backfiring.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a gas generator embodying my invention; a

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view of the atomizingnozzle;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan View of the nozzle shown in Fig. 5;

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are detailed soictional views of the three-way valveemployed in-the air line of will be apparent from the following description, I after the operation has once been initiated, no jf the generator; and

Figs. 10 and 11 are views similar to Figs. 2 and 3 showing a modified form of apparatus.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown casing III which provides therewithin a combustion or gasifying chamber II, which, as will be noted, is enlarged at its upper portion and tapers downwardly so as to merge into a relatively smaller outlet I2, to which is connected a pipe or other conduit I3 through which the generated gas or gasifled fuel may pass from the chamber to a furnace, burnerorother device in which the gas is to be used. The combustion chamber I I is provided with a cover I4 formed with a well or dome I5 extending upwardly through the cover, and provided at its upper end with a cap I 6 having a transparent member I I of mica or heat-resisting glass, so that a peephole is provided through which the operator may watch the action taking place in the chamber II.

The chamber is provided with an oil passage I8 from which a duct I9 leads to the outlet nozzle designated generally by the numeral 20, and which will be more particularly described hereinafter. An oil supply line 2| controlled by the valve 22 of any approved form communicates with the oil passage III, the supply line leading to a tank or other source of supply.

The member I4 is also provided with an air passage 23 communicating through a short duct 24 with the nozzle 20. To the passage 23 is connected a branch 25 of the main air line 26, supplied with air under pressure by a pump 21.

A further branch air line 28 leads from the line 26 to an air passage 29 formed in the member I4, the passage 29 being in communication with a pipe or nozzle 30, which delivers air for purposes of combustion to the chamber II. It will be noted that the pipe 30 leads into the dome or well I5, and discharges against the side wall of this well in a downwardly inclined direction.

Slots I5 and I5", which are shown as of triangular shape and one disposed upon each side.

wall of the well l5. These slots lessen the velocity of the flame as driven from the well by the air issuing from the pipe 38 so that there will be no tendency for it to extinguish the flame, which results from the burning of the gas in the well l5. These slots also redirect the premixture of air and gas in the well toward the flame or baflle plates.

The branch air lines 25 and 28 communicate with the main air line by means of a three-way valve 3|, which, as shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, is capable of being moved to positions to supply either or both of the branch lines and 28 with air as desired. For example, if the valve is in the position shown in Fig. 9, air will be supplied to the branch 25 only. If, however, the valve is in the position shown in Fig. 7, air will be supplied to both of the branch lines 25 and 28, while, if the valve is in the position shown in Fig. 8, air will be supplied to the line 28 only, and shut off from the line 25. This valve may, of course, be any of the conventional three-way valves, and is not a part of the present invention, except that it is contemplated that the air should becontrolled in such a manner that it may be admitted to either of the branch lines 25 and 28 and excluded from the other line, or be admitted to both lines at the same time.

Mounted in the combustion chamber II are baflie or flame plates 32 and 33. While only two such baflle plates are shown in the drawings, the number of such plates may be varied as desired, and a greater or fewer number provided. It will be noted that the upper baflle plate 32 comprises a relatively flat member curved in arcuate shape along its longitudinal dimension, so that it presents an upwardly facing concave contour. The lower baflie plate 33 is of similar contour, but is of greater length than the upper plate, so that it extends beyond the free edge of the upper plate to a point adjacent the wall of the chamber opposite that upon which the plates are secured. The baiiie plate 33 is also provided with a number of openings, which, as shown, may take the form of parallel slots 34, these slots, as will hereinafter be explained, permitting a part of the generated gas to flow directly downwardly through these openings toward the outlet l2. Mounted in an opening in the chamber wall above the flame plates is a spark plug 35, which may be employed to initiate combustion within the chamber l I. As will be hereinafter explained, after the generator is once placed into operation, current may be cut off from the spark plug, as it will be no longer required.

It will be noted that the bame plate 32 is placed below the atomlzing nozzle 29 heretofore generally referred to, and which will now be described in detail. This nozzle, shown more particularly in Fig. 5, comprises an oil nozzle 38 having an oil passage 39 which communicates with the passage l9. The wall of the nozzle 38 is provided with an external annular recess 48, leaving a flange or web 4| adjacent its lower edge, within which flange may be provided one or more notched openings 42, which communicate with the recess 48. Surrounding the lower recessed portion of the nozzle 38, and extending upwardly therefrom, is the air nozzle 43 having a passage 44 communicating with the short passage 24 in the top l4 of the chamber H. The passage 44, as will be seen from Figs. 5 and 6, communicates with the annular recess 48 about the oil nozzle 38, and the wall of this latter nozzle is provided with an opening 45, which permits the entry of atomizing air to the oil passage 39. The oil nozzle 38 may be provided with a threaded portion 48 adjacent its upper end, so that it may be screwed into place, and the air nozzle 43 may be held in position by means of a washer 41 secured in turn by a set screw 48. It will be obvious that air entering through the passage 44 will pass into the nozzle 39 through the port or opening 45, and will also pass into the annular channel 48 and be discharged into the chamber through the notched openings 42. Thus a part of the air supply through the passage 44 will enter the oil stream before it is discharged into the chamber I I, while another part thereof will be discharged into the chamber around the oil stream through the notched openings 42. This, as will be explained, results in providing for the admission of fuel into the chamber generally in the form of a central fuel core surrounded by a fine spray of atomized fuel.

About the casing III of the combustion chamber II is provided an outer casing 49. The-space between this outer casing and the casing I!) may be filled with heat insulating material so as to prevent the operator from being exposed to the heat from the combustion chamber, or, on the other hand, it may be left as a dead air space, or the air may be exhausted therefrom in order that the walls of the casing 49 will be relatively cool.

The operation of the device will now be de scribed. When it is desired to place the generator into operation, the valve 3| is turned to the position shown in Fig. 9, in which air is admitted to the branch pipe 25 and thence to the passage 44 to the air nozzle. The spark plug is also supplied with current, and the oil valve 22 is open to a slight extent. This results in discharging into the combustion chamber II a mixture of the atomized air and oil in a relatively fine spray, which on account of the inclination of the lower end of passage 44, will be directed toward the spark plug 35 and be ignited. The generator is allowed to operate for a short time under these conditions until the combustion chamber and the bailie plates therein become heated. This should require only a few seconds. Thereafter, the valve 3| is turned to the position shown in Fig. 7 to supply air to both branch air lines 25 and 28, the oil valve is opened to the extent required to furnish suflicient oil to generate the desired amount of gas, and the spark plug is cut off, as this form of ignition will no longer be required due to the fact that the flame in the chamber will be selfsustaining. Combustion air being supplied through the pipe 30, and a mixture of air and oil being supplied through the nozzle 28, as will now be the case, the generator is in its normal operation.

When the burner is first put into operation from a cooled state and air and oil are supplied through the passages 44 and 39, respectively, it will be seen that, due to the direction of the lower end of the passage 44, a part of the air which enters the lower enlarged end of the passage 39 will tend to pass downwardly in the general direction of the lower end of the passage 44, and will, therefore, be directed toward the center of the chamber ll, past the spark plug 35. This part of the air has a higher velocity than the remainder, which strikes against and is battled to some extent by the walls of the passage 39, and it is this higher velocity portion of the issuing air that contains the finest spray, which insures immediate ignition by the spark plug. The slower moving part of the atomized stream of air When additional oil is supplied, it is also nec- I essary to supply additional air thrbugh the duct 30. Otherwise the disproportion of vapor to air would result in extinguishing, or nearly extinguishing, the-flame. and the flame plate would be cooled. With additional supplies of both air and oil, however, an additional amount of fuel is consumed, which is sufllcient not only to keep the combustion chamber and flame plates hot, but in addition to gasify a considerable quantity of the fuel while actually burning only a small quantity. When additional fuel is supplied, and also additional air, the gases are directed against the curved flame plates 32 and 33 (the flame plate 32 being narrower than plate 33, as well as shorter). which, on account of their shape, tend to deflect these gases in the general direction of their curved endsand cause them to move generally upwardly into the well l5, and particularly against the right-hand wall of this well, as shown in Fig. 2, and as indicated by the arrows in this figure. Air issuing from the nozzle or duct 30 tends to augment this action by its effect as an'inspirator, thus serving to draw the gases up into the well, and also to supply them with air for combustion, and direct them generally downwardly toward the flame plates.

The proportion of the total fuel thus consumed can be regulatedto a relatively flne degree by the curvature of the flame plates, and by supplying the proper quantity of combustion air through the duct 30. The air issuing from this duct is baffled to some extent against the wall of the well IE, but a part thereof issues into the chamber II in the direction of the tube 30, so as to impel the burning gases against the flame plates 32 and 33 to maintain them at a high degree of heat.

The slotting of the lower plate permits excess gases which are generated to immediately descend and flow out of the chamber through the outlet I2, so that excessive cooling of the plates will be prevented. When arelatively large quantity of oil is supplied, some of this oil may not be atomized, but will drop directly upon the flame plates and be converted directly into gas. This gas will be directed toward the well I5 and some of it will burn in the chamber in the atmosphere supplied by the pipe 30. These flame plates, therefore, not only function as deflectors or battles for the stream of atomized oil and air, but also serve to vaporize these large drops, which might otherwise pass through the device as oil. The effect of these flameplates as bailles also assures a homogeneity of mixture whereby substantially all of the free oxygen will be consumed, so that the gas discharged from the gasifier will not contain free oxygen, and therefore will not be a combustible mixture.

The flame directed by the flowof air from the tube 30 will be blue in color, so that it is most efflcient and will insure complete combustion and prevent the formation of any carbon deposit within the chamber.

After the burner has been brought up to heat will be supplied tothe nozzle be regulated by the'valve 22, depending upon the amount of gas desired for use, and within limits, the quantity of oil supplied can be varied without changing the supply of combustion air, for, while the amount of fuel actually burned may be in excess of that required to generate gas from the remainder of the fuel when a relatively small quantity of fuel is supplied, it will be sufficient to generate gas from a larger quantity of fuel.

The swirling or turbulence of the gases in the chamber effected by the bafiie plates in conjunction with the action of the tube 30 as an inspirator, insures a complete mixture of the combustion air with the atomized oil, and therefore complete combustion of the fuel which is consumed, thus giving the double advantage of insuring against any carbon deposit and'also against the presence of any free oxygen in the gas delivered by the generator.

It-will be noted that theslots I 5a and l5b in the wall of the well l5 serve to lessen the baflling effect of thelower portion of the wall of the well upon the air issuing from the pipe 30. The degree of this bailiing effect maybe varied as desired by changing-the number or arrangement of the slots. In some instances, and particularly when the valve 3| is so positioned that no air 20, it may be desirable to provide for the air introduced through the tube'30 tolissue therefrom wit "ut any baffling effect. Such a structure is shown in Figs. 10 and 11, where thelowerportioni of the wall of the well may be notched out or, cut away at that portion opposite the mount of the tube 30, as illustrated at lie/so that the air issuing from this tube will be directed freely into the chamber in the direction of the outlet of the tube.

As will be apparent from Figs. 6, 10 and 11, for example, in this case the air issuing from the tube will be directed in a downwardly inclined direction across the stream of oil issuing from the nozzle 20, and toward the wall of the chamber adjacent this nozzle. This will serve to blow the flame of the gas burning in the well I l5v directly across the stream of oil issuing from the nozzle 20, so as to spray the stream of oil with the flame as well as suppying combustion air to mix with the oil.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims;

What I claim is:

' 1. A gasifying apparatus for heavy liquid fuels comprising agasifying chamber, a fuel nozzle having a passage communicating with the upper portion of the chamber, a curved bafile plate in said chamber below said nozzle, having its concave side toward said nozzle to receive thereon the fuel discharged from the nozzle and create a turbulence therein, and means for delivering a supply of air into said fuel passage above the discharge end thereof to mix with the fuel, said delivery being generally in the direction of said baflle plate, and ignition means disposed generally in the path of said delivery.

' 2. A gasifying apparatus for heavy liquid fuels comprising a gasifying chamber, an atomizing nozzle communicating with the chamber to de liver a mixture of fuel and air thereto, a pluralfrom a wall thereof and below and in proximity to said fuel nozzle to receive the discharge therefrom, said baflie plates being in spaced relation one below the other, and the lower of saidb'aflle plates being longer than the upper to extend to a further distance into the chamber, and said baffle plates being upwardly curved to present their concave surfaces toward the nozzle.

3. A gasifying apparatus for heavy liquid fuels comprising a gasifying chamber, an atomizing nozzle communicating with the chamber to deliver a mixture of fuel and air thereto, a plurality of baffle plates extending into said chamber from a wall thereof and below and in line with and in proximity to said fuelenozzle to receive the discharge therefrom, said baflle .plates being in spaced relationone below the other, the lower of said baille plates being longer than the upper to extend to a further distance into the chamber, and one of said bame plates being provided with openings to permit the passage of a part of the fuel therethrough.

4. A gasifying apparatus for heavy liquid fuels comprising a combustion chamber having an auxiliary chamber in a wall of the combustion chamber and in communication therewith, means for delivering to said combustion chamber a mixture of fuel and'air, baille means within said combustion chamber to receive said mixture and deflect ittoward said auxiliary chamber, additional air supply means to discharge air into the first chamber adjacent the lower end of said auxiliary chamber in the general direction of said bame plate to furnish oxygen for combustion of the fuel and to redirect the mixture toward said baffle plate.

5. A gasifying apparatus provided with a combustion chamber having an auxiliary chamber in a wall thereof in communication with the first chamber, means for delivering to the combustion chamber a mixture of fuel and air, means for deflecting said mixture along a wall of said auxiliary chamber, an air supply nozzle having its outlet adjacent the opposite wall of the auxiliary chamber for discharging additional air into the combustion chamber in a direction generally toward said deflecting means.

6. A gasifying apparatus provided with a combustion chamber having an auxiliary chamber in a wall thereof in communication with the first chamber, means for delivering to the combustion chamber a mixture of fuel and air, means for deflecting said mixture along a wall of said auxiliary chambe an air supply nozzle having its outlet adjacent the opposite wall of the auxiliary chamber for discharging additional air into the combustion chamber in a direction generally toward said deflecting means, and said nozzle creating an inspirating action to assist in drawing the mixture of fuel and air'lnto the auxiliary chamber.

7. A gasifying apparatus comprising a combustion chamber, said chamber having an outlet at its lower end and being reduced in size adjacent to the outlet relatively to the upper end of the chamber, a wall of said chamber being provided with an auxiliary chamber communicating with the combustion chamber at the top thereof, a baffle plate extending into the combustion chamber from a wall thereof, an atomizing nozzle disposed at the upper portion of the combustion chamber for directing a mixture of fuel and air thereinto toward said baflie plate, said baiile plate being curved to deflect said mixture .ity of baflle plates extending into said chamber into the auxiliary chamber, and an air discharge nozzle discharging against a wall of the auxiliary chamber at the end thereof adjacent the combustion chamber to supply additional combustion air and to redirect the mixture toward said baiile plate.

8. A gasifying apparatus comprising a combustion chamber, said chamber having an outlet at its lower end and being reduced in size adjacent to the outlet relatively to the upper end of the chamber, a wall of said chamber being provided with an auxiliary chamber communicating with the combustion chamber at the top thereof, a baflle plate extending into the combustion chamber from a wall thereof, an atomizing nozzle disposed at the upper portion of the combustion chamber for directing a mixture of fuel and air thereinto toward said baille plate, said baflie plate being curved to deflect said mixture into the auxiliary chamber, and an air discharge nozzlev discharging against a wall of the auxiliary chamber at the end thereof adjacent the combustion chamber to supply additional combustion air and to redirect the mixture toward said bafile plate, and said air discharge nozzle discharging against the wall of the auxiliary chamber in an inclined direction generally toward the combustion chamber.

9. A gasifying apparatus comprising a chamber, a nozzle for discharging a mixture of fuel and air into said chamber, additional air supply means for supplying combustion air to said chamber, a balile plate in said chamber extending across the discharge from said fuel nozzle and presenting a concave surface thereto to receive thereon the discharge from the nozzle, and said baflle plate having openings therein to permit the passage therethrough of a portion of the fuel to prevent excess cooling of the plate.

10. A gasifying apparatus comprising a combustion chamber having an outlet at its lower end and having an auxiliary chamber in a wall thereof adjacent the upper end in communication with the combustion chamber, a baffle plate extending into the combustion chamber from a wall thereof, a nozzle disposed at the upper portion of the combustion chamber for directing fuel and air toward said baffle plate, said baffle plate having an upwardly directed end portion to deflect into the. auxiliary chamber the fuel and air and also gas generated by the baflle plate from said fuel, and an air discharge nozzle discharging against a wall of theauxiliary chamber at the end thereof adjacent the combustion chamber to redirect the mixture toward said baffle plate and to supply additional combustion air for combustion of said gas.

11. A gasifying apparatus comprising a combustion chamber having an outlet at its lower end and,an auxiliary chamber communicating with the combustion chamber at the upper portion thereof, a baille plate extending into the combustion chamber from a wall thereof, a nozzle disposed at the upper portion of the combustion chamber to direct fuel downward against said baille plate, said baffle plate having a curved end to deflect the fuel toward said auxiliary chamber, an air nozzle having an outlet adjacent that portion of the auxiliary chamber communicating with the combustion chamber to supply combustion air for the fuel, said air nozzle discharging in a direction across the stream of fuel issuing from the fuel nozzle toward the baflie plate.

ROBERT REICHI-IELM. 

